URGENT HRFS STATEMENT: Saudi Government should release 100 Shea protesters in the Eastern Province Released March 23, 2011 Read Statement

Full Condemnation for the Outrageous Suppression of the Demonstration in Qatif – March 10, 2011Statement in English

HRFS Statement – December 22, 2010:HRFS rejects the notion that a woman needs a man’s permission to buy a car in Saudi Arabia and calls on The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah to intervene on an urgent basis to cancel this outrageous decision.

HRFS calls for the Saudi government to give full legal identity to Saudi women without a need for the male guardian (mahram.) It further calls on the Saudi government to honor its signature and ratification of the CEDAW with laws in the Kingdom that make its signature and ratification meaningful.

HRFS Statement: The Executive Board of UN Women: Who is Being Represented? November 6, 2010 Read Statement More…

Human Rights First Society (HRFS) StatementOctober 18, 2010Human Rights First Society (HRFS) has been following closely the circumstances surrounding the outrageous illegal detention of Mrs. Samar Mohammad Badawi for the past 6 months ( the details of her case may be found at http://samarstory.wordpress.com/ .) UPDATE: Mrs. Samar Mohammad Badawi has been released to the custody of her uncle.

HRFS Response The following letter was respectfully written in response to this tragic loss by HRFS President Ibrahim Almugaiteeb. It was sent to Mr. Eduardo Nino at the Mexican Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on April 28, 2010:

Dear Mr. Nino

I was both shocked and saddened by the news of the violent death of my HRD colleague Bety Cariño of CACTUS from Oaxaca, Mexico as a result of a violent attack yesterday as she and a number of human rights defenders made their way to an indigenous zone controlled by paramilitaries. It is wonderful individuals like my friend Bety who through their relentless struggle try to make this ugly world a better place for human beings and here is the devastating news that she paid the ultimate price for doing that. Human Rights First Society protests this heinous crime against Ms. Bety Cariño and calls on the government of Mexico to bring the perpetrators to speedy justice.

FROM THE BBC: Spotlight on Human Rights in Saudi Arabia.Updated April 19, 2010. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has begun a visit to Saudi Arabia. As part of the BBC’s coverage of her visit Ibrahim Almugaiteeb, the president of Human Rights First Society, has been interviewed by Bob Trevelyan of the BBC. Mr. Almugaiteeb talks with Mr. Trevelyan about everyday human rights violations and injustices in his country . “Spotlight on Human Rights in Saudi Arabia” can be heard on the BBC website.Go to Interview.

TV Mystic Lingers in Saudi Jail by Michael Slackman, Mona El-Naggar contributed reporting. NEW YORK TIMES April 24 and 25 2010 For more than two years, Ali Hussain Sibat of Lebanon has been held in a prison in Saudi Arabia, convicted of sorcery and sentenced to death. His head is to be chopped off by an executioner wielding a long, curved sword. His case highlights not only the popular belief in magic and sorcery — by no means unique to Saudi Arabia — but also a legal system that critics say operates in secret and functions with little oversight, due process or even written laws. Saudi Arabia’s Constitution is the Koran. According to Amnesty International, Mr. Sibat does not even have a lawyer in Saudi Arabia. (Ms. Khansa is in Lebanon.) “The judges think they are the interpreters of God’s word, and this is the whole problem in Saudi Arabia,” said Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, director of Human Rights First Society, an independent monitoring group in the kingdom. “We have enormous numbers of examples where the same case was judged radically differently between two judges.” (A version of this article appeared in print on April 25, 2010, on page A8 of the New York edition.)More…

Human Rights First Society (HRFS) condemns the handling of the youthinvolved in the rioting and looting in Al Khobar and Dammam on National Day, September 23, 2009. HRFS strongly declares that physical punishments, such as flogging, are not acceptable and should be stopped in Saudi Arabia. Also, due process and the right of a fair trial were disregarded in this case. These youth were denied access to the courts prior to their floggings and they did not have the representation of legal counsel. HRFS urges the Human Rights Commission in Saudi Arabia to examine this case and take the necessary steps that will insure fair and open hearings in court in cases such as this.

Mrs. Sheikh Hasina,
Prime Minister,
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Your Excellency;

I write to you expressing my deepest concern about the case of gang rape of Ms. Parul Das, a 16 year old Dalit girl,in the Jessore Sistrict,in south western Bangladesh.

I am hoping for the kind attention of Your Excellency to make sure that appropriate authorities in Bangladesh will:

i. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Parul Das and her family.
ii. Order an immediate, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into these events in order to bring those responsible for the ill-treatment to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. Guarantee that adequate rehabilitation and compensation is awarded to the victim;
iv. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

RELEASE: Saudi business woman and woman activist joins Human Rights First Society (HRFS) May 30, 2009 Kholood Salih Alfahad, a Saudi business woman and woman activist who is coordinating and working on a new petition for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia which will be submitted in person to His Majesty the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al saud, has joined Human Rights First Society as an active declared member.

HRFS Publications

HRFS Objective

HRFS serves a very important function working as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Saudi Arabia to monitor reported human rights abuses and advocate for the victims. HRFS uses all peaceful means to advocate that the Saudi government respects and defends all human rights.

HRFS Arabic Website Blocked

The HRFS official Arabic website (http://www.anhri.net/?p=35528), hosted by our colleagues ANHRI in Cairo, has been blocked in Saudi Arabia since 2003.